US: NPD reveals top five kids licences

The NPD Group's Kids Industry Data Service (KIDS) has named the top five children's licences for the 12 months ending August 2011.

Cars The Movie, Disney Princess, Dora the Explorer, Star Wars and Toy Story each generated anywhere from seven per cent to three per cent of total licensed product sales.

In the US, licensed toy sales account for an average of 25 per cent of total toy industry annual revenue.

According to KIDS, apparel and accessories captured the greatest share of spending on behalf of children (overall, including licensed and non-licensed). The franchises having the greatest share of spending within the licensed portion of the category were Disney Princess, Dora the Explorer and Cars.

Three to five year olds command the most dollars spent on licensed products (27 per cent), followed by six to eight year olds (21 per cent). The remaining age groups range from 16 per cent to 18 per cent.

In terms of licensed dollar spend by gender, more is spent on boys (58 per cent) than girls (43 per cent).